Well formation tool



March 10, 1953 J. L YNES WELL FORMATION Toor.

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WELL FORMATION TOOL Filed Oct; 19, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 WAWX/IXVAWWW INVENTUR. E55- J'oHN LYNES.

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March l0, 1953 J. LYNES 2,630,864

WELL FORMATION TOOL Y. Trot/VE K March l0, 1953 J. I YNEs WELL FORMATION TOOL 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 19, 1944 INVENTOR. J'oHN LYNEa HTTOENEY Patented Mar. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES RATENT OFFICE WELL FORMATION 'rooL John Lynes, Houston, Tex., assigner to Lynes, Inc., a corporation of Texas Application October 19, 1944, Serial No. 559,338

(Cl. 16B-10) 1 Claim. 1

The invention relates to a tool for manipulation in a well bore with a view of testing, treating, cementing, or accomplishing .other operations where a seal is to be provided in the well.

The invention relates generally to the subject matter disclosed in my prior copending application Serial No. 543,381, filed for a Formation Testing Tool, filed July .3, 1944, now Patent No. 2,516,580, granted July 25, 1950.

It is one of the objects of the present invention -to provide a well tool which can be set at any desired elevation kin the well bore so as to provide a seal in the well bore while opening the tool to a formation below the seal thus formed.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a tool which when once tripped can thereafter be set for operation an indefinite number -of times as it is raised in the well bore.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a positioning cup construction for use with a well tool so as to temporarily hold the tool at the desired elevation in the well to permit the setting of a hydraulic packer to anchor the tool against movement and to form a seal with the well bore.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a positioning cup which will automatically engage the Wall of the well bore when the tool to which it is connected is vlowered so as to permit a setting of a packer which is also carried by the tool.

.permit radial expansion and longitudinal contraction of the packer under pressure.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a high pressure hydraulic packer wherein a single reinforcing strand of material is woven back and forth in a helical path from end to end of the packer.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a reinforcing assembly for hydraulic packers wherein a reinforcing strand is anchored at the ends of the packer and imbedded in resilient material so as to reinforce the material against the pressure encountered.

Still another object of the invention .is to provide a plurality of laminated layers .of reinforcing strands where each layer constitutes a single strand for the reinforcing of a packer construed tion.

-Still another object of the invention is to pro# vide an anchoring means on packer heads in order to retain the reinforcing strands utilized in the manufacture of a hydraulic packer.

Other and further objects of the invention 'will be readily apparent when the following descrip tion is .considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the `tool being lowered into a well bore and about to be manipulated so as to set it in sealing position.

Fig. 2 is a section of the tool of Fig. 1 where the seal has been set by manipulation of the tool in engagement with the well bottom.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a tool arranged for setting in the well bore where two spaced packers are arranged to isolate a formation. ,y

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4 1 fof Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View of the vpositioning cup in collapsed position.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line E--B of Fig. 5. v

Fig. 7 is a View similar to Fig. 5 except that `the positioning cup is shown as having been Vexpanded to initially permit the settingl of the packer.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation with certain parts broken away and shown in section to illustrate the manner of anchoring the reinforcing strands in the ends of the packer.

Fig. 9 shows a sectional view of one of the anchor rings.

Fig. 10 isa sid-e elevation showing the arrangement for passing a single strand of reinforcing material from end to end of the packer in making up a vlayer of reinforcingA material.

Fig. 11 is a section taken on the line l I-Il fof Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a transverse sectional view through the construction of the packer, showing the plu`i rality of laminated layers of reinforcing material enclosed in the packer sleeve.

In Fig. v1 the well bore 2 has been drilled and during the drilling operation, the flushing fluid or drilling mud 3 is present in the well. A

A formation 4 has been ,penetrated and it is desired that some operation be performed in 'con-i nection with this formation 4. Such an operation may be (l) the taking of a sample of fluid from such formation 4, ('2) the treating of the formation 4 for the purpose of introducing 'acid Aor other chemicals to dissolve or treat the forma-l tion, (8) the cementing or squeezing of cement 3 into the formation 4 to block off the formation, or (4) the performance of some other operation in connection with this formation 4.

In view of the fact that the column of mud 3 in the well usually creates a predominate pressure upon the face of the well bore such as the exposed area 5 of the formation 4, it is desirable to seal off the well bore so as to eliminate such pressure upon the formation 4.

To accomplish the dual purpose of performing the operation on the formation and the sealing of the formation during such operation, a well tool 1 has been lowered into the well. This tool is usually manipulated by means of an operating pipe 8 which carries a piston or plunger 9 threaded at I0 to the lower end thereof. This piston or plunger is arranged for sliding movement in the pipe I2 which is hollow and thus forms a chamber I3.

Toretain the pipe I2 about the plunger 9, a gland I4 is threaded into the upper end of the .pipe I2.

The load of the tool 1 is thus supported upon the shoulder I5, forming the upper end of the plunger 9. With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1 .the tool is lowered into the well bore with a view yof forming a seal with the Wall 2 of the well bore.

The structure of the tool 1 to accomplish this seal includes the coupling I1 threaded at I8 into the lower end of the pipe I2 and this coupling lserves as the upper end of the packer assembly 2D which assembly is made up of the mandrel 2l threaded at 22' inside of the coupling I1. The foregoing parts cooperate to make up the body of the tool. Around this mandrel is arranged :an internal sealing liner 22 anchored at 23 inside of the coupling I1. This liner is arranged to be forced against the packer head 24 which is threaded at 25 into the skirt portion 26 of the Mcoupling I1 in such a manner that it will form a support for the upper end 21 of the packing sleeve 28. A retainer ring 29 confines the resilient packing sleeve 28 when pressure fluid is applied to cause its iniiation. Such pressure fluid )may pass from the chamber I3 through the passage 3| and into the mandrel 2l and outwardfly through the mandrel openings 30 into the liner :22. The chamber I3 in turn has the openings ,33 and 34 so as to allow an inow and an outow of fluid. When, however, the tool 1 is held staytionary and the pipe 8 is lowered as soon as the plunger 9 passes the opening 34, -any uid in -the chamber I3 will be trapped therein and forced ythrough the passage 3| and out through the openings 33 and into the sleeve 22 to effect ination of the packer as best seen in Fig. 2. In 1 this manner the outer periphery 35 of the packing sleeve forms a seal as at 36 with the wall of the well bore.

The lower end of the packer is closed by -a slide valve nipple 31, which carries the packer head 38 and serves as a support for the lower end of the :packer sleeve 28 and inner liner 22. Suitable packing rings 39' form a seal with the periphery of the mandrel 2l so there can be no leakage thereby. -V Extending through the nipple 31 is a flow con- ,nection 40 which is connected to the lower end of the mandrel 2I in such a manner that, when .the pressure is applied to inflate the packer, the 'nipple 31 will slide upwardly to the position of .,Fig. 2. The now ports 42 will thus be uncovered .due to the axial contraction of the packer, "which causes the raising of the nipple 31. The

ow port 42 leads Into a passage 43 which has the ow tube 44 connected thereto. This fiow tube passes through an opening 45 in the plunger 9 and into the chamber 48 inside of the operating pipe 8, where the check valve 41 is disposed thereon and arranged to prevent any back fiow.

Such a check valve is used when the formation 4 is to be tested and a fluid sample obtained, because the upward flow of such fluid sample will lift the valve 41 and trap a sample of the fluid in the chamber 4S of the operating pipe 8. On the other hand, if pressure were being applied to the formation 4, then of course the check valve 41 would be reversed to prevent any back fiow into the operating pipe from the formation where the pressure was being applied.

The construction and operation of the tool thus far described quite closely follows that disclosed in my above mentioned application for patent.

One of the novel features of the present invention is the arrangement of a positioning cup 50 which is shown in a collapsed position in Figs. 1 and 5 and in extended position in Figs. 2 and 7.

rIhe purpose of this cup is to temporarily hold the tool at a desired elevation until the pipe 8 can be manipulated to force fluid into the packer to form a seal with the packer. The detail structure of this positioning cup is best seen in Figs. 5 and '7 and includes a coupling 52 threaded at 53 to the lower end 54 of the flow connection 4U. This coupling has a stem 55 of reduced diameter extending therebelow and provides a shoulder 53 on which a plate 51 is arranged to abut. This plate 51 serves as a support for the positioning cup 58 which fits around the stem 55 and has a resilient lip 59 thereon. It is intended that this lip 59 may be moved outwardly so as to engage the face of the well bore as at 83 in Fig. 7. A plug 52 having a tapered face 63 is shown in Fig. 5 as being fitted inside of the inverted cup 58. Arranged around the stem 55 is the latch collar 65, having an opening 36 therein to slide on the stem. 55. This collar has the notches B1 arranged to receive the latch pins 68 which are normally' urged outwardly by a spring 33, these pins being pivoted at 10 in the cross slot 1I in the lower end of the stem.

Normally the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 5, but when the tool is lowered so that the bottom 12 of lthe collar 65 abuts an obstruction 13, such as the bottom of the well, the stem 55 will slide downwardly due to the resilient nature of the cup 58 and the plug 62 so as to force the parts to the position of Fig. '1. This downward movement of the stem 55 shears a retainer pin 14 which normally prevents such action and as the movement is completed, the latch arms 68 will snap into the notches 61 and prevent return of the parts to the collapsed position.

Further movement of the operating pipe 8 now causes the plunger 9 to move down into the chamber I3 and inflate the packer.

The desired operation can now be performed because the ports 42 will have been opened as seen in Fig. 2.

This positioning cup is of particular advantage where the tool is to be used a number of times on one run into the well bore because after the positioning cup has been set as seen in Fig. 7, upward movement on the operating pipe will cause the lip 53 to slide along the surface 2 of the well bore so long as the tool is being moved upwardly.

When it is desired to take an additional test or to perform a second or third operation, a slight lowering movement bythe operating pipe- 8- will` cause the lips 59 oi"l the cup-to grip against the wall of the well and stop thev downward move-v ment' of' the lower portion of the tool. In this manner the plunger 9 willforce liquid into the packer' to form a seal so that this positioning cup` serves as an initialanchoring device to permit the'- setting of the packer.

It" seems obvious thatv if a sampling operation is being performed-that the sample can be with.- drawn from the operating pipe 84 by a. swab or in any desired manner and' if a treating operation isbeing` performed', ofcourse the ports lizwillbe covered everytime the pipe 8 isl raised to reiieve the pressureon the inside of' the packer, which permitsthe' packer to automatically collapse. due toits inherent resiliency.

Fig. 3'- shows the same-arrangement'as disclosed in-Fi'gs. 1 and 2, except'thatthcreis an additional packer 'l5 so that the formation s intermediate the packersmay be isolated and as seen. in Fig.. 4, the flow ports 42 may be uncovered. by movement of thenipple 3-1 as previously described..

The flow connection (idf will have the passages l8- therein to permit. actuating liquid from the chamber I3: to nievev in to iniiate the lower packer l5...

Broadly, itis contemplated that the tool described may be used for a number of different operations, such as testing, treating, or cementing of a particular formation; that. the operations may bev conducted. stage by stage due to the fact that the tool may be raised and reset an indennite number of times. While the latch collar has been shown asr engaging the bottom 'i3 of the well bore, it seems obvious that any desired obstruction may be placed in the well so as to release the latch at. any desired. elevation. Of

course the tool can be loweredr tov the bottom of the well bore and the positioning; cup set in place and then the toolY can be raised any desired distance inthe well before it is sety down to; innate the packer. Thus-for instance, if the formation 4 were several hundred feetor any other distance from the bottom of the well bore,V the positioning cup should be set and then the tool slowly raised to the elevation at which the operation was to be performed.

One of the important features of the tool is the construction of the inflatable packer. While the packer has merely been shown diagrammatically in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, it is of course well understood that a packer to withstand the tremendous pressures encountered in a well bore must be constructed of materials and in such a manner as to withstand pressures approximating 10,000'and 15,000 pounds per square inch. This is true because for instance in a 10,000 foot well using a drilling mud having a speciiic gravity of two, just roughly the static pressure due to such a column of mud would approximate more than 10,000 pounds per square inch near the bottom of the well.

If the tool were set as shown at Fig. 2, when the ow ports 42 were open and the pressure fluid in the Well bore below the packer released into the operating pipe 8, the pressure in the bore below the packer might drop to just a few hundred pounds per square inch, whereas, on the expanded packer directly thereabove, the weight of the long column of mud in the well bore would have to be supported. It seems clear therefore that there might be a differential pressure across the packer approximately 10,000 lbs. per square inch.

One form of construction 'of such afpacker' is shown in my'copending application, Serial No. 473,928, iiledI Januaryy 29, 1943, for Hydraulic Inflatable Packery and Assembly for Testing and Treating Well Formations, nowl reled as` a continuation application bearing Serial No. 65,843, filed December 17, 1948.

Figs; Sto 12 inclusive herewith show two of the forms of packer construction which will with'-r stand very high pressures. In Fig. 8- an enlarged detail View of the end ofv a packer is shown. This is somewhat different than the diagrammatic illustration of the end of the packer shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and is made up of a packer head 88', threaded at 8| externally to receive the pipe l2 at its upper end and is enlarged at 82 to form a seat for the end of' such pipe. This head is internally cut away to provide a groove 83 which receives the ribs 3H ofthe inner liner B5, which is the same as the liner l22 of Fig. 1 but shown more in detail. This liner is arranged to abut thev inner-periphery of the head' 80 sok as to form a seal therewith when the packer is iniated.` The head 89 is provided with an annular'skirt 81 of4 reduced diameter which is arranged to receive 'a plurality of anchor rings 88, whereby the reinforcing wires or strands 89 are anchored in position. These. anchor wires are made up in bands such as 50 seen the center of Fig. 8,.'ea-chv band being' made up of some ten vor twelve'. wires', which wires, cables 0r strands more or lessadhere together and can be applied as ay unit.v The anchor rings 88 are-of a size sethat these strands 89 may be vpassed therebeneath and curved over the upper edge. as at QI, so as to form a single anchor to prevent they strandszirom being pulled loose.

There are four layers ofv these strands shown in Fig. y8 and each layer is held-v in place.- by its anchorring 88. These anchor rings haveinclined steps or shoulders 92 thereon. Each shoulder is being arranged to receivea band of strands. The strands are carried in a helical path around the-packer so that when thev packer is inflated, it will contract longitudinally and expand radially due to the helical path of these strands or wires.

In order to further anchor these strands or wires, a retainer collar 94 is shown as having been passed over the outer layer 95 of the wires. The anchor rings may be held against sliding movement on the skirt 81 by means of the locking collar 96 which is preferably welded at 91 in place to securely support the rings.

The resilient sleeve or covering material 98 is shown as having been vulcanized in position to enclose these strands or wires of the reinforcing material so that a packer presents a streamlined appearance where the resilient material is ci tgle same diameter as the head 80 as indicated a One of the anchor rings 88 shows the stepped shoulders 92 as best seen in Fig. 9.

Packers generally constructed in accordance with the structure just described have been actually inflated to pressures approximating 10,000

pounds per square inch without damage.

Figs. 10 to l2 inclusive show more in detail an arrangement for the reinforcing of the packer. In this view the upper head |00 and the lower head I0! are spaced apart a considerable distance and the inner liner 22 is shown as extending between them. This liner is of course of resilient material.

In order to anchor-the reinforcing strands in an efcient manner, each of the heads and |0| have been provided with a plurality of buttons or lugs |03. These are shown as arranged in circles |04 extending around the head. Four rows have been shown so that it is possible to anchor four layers of the reinforcing strand |05.

Fig. shows that each layer of the reinforcing material is made up of a single strand or cable |05. This cable or strand is applied by anchoring the end |06 to one of the buttons |03 and then weaving the strand from the upper head |00 in one revolution, following a helical path around the liner 22 and passing it over the button |01 on the lower head |0|. The strand is then returned and passed around the next adjacent button |08 on the upper head and thence back and forth from button to button and head to head until a complete layer of reinforcing is provided by looping the strand around each one of the buttons of the row |03. Fig. 10 shows the layer as partially formed, whereas, a transverse sectional view of a complete assembly of the whole tool is shown in Fig. 12, where the inside pipe or mandrel 2| has the innerliner 22 there against, then there is the resilient material 98 both on the inside and the outside of the four layers of reinforcing strands 89 so that it seems obvious that a rigid construction has been arranged for anchoring the reinforcing strands on the one hand while on the other hand the packer itself is resilient and very strongly reinforced.

Broadly the packer construction contemplates a packer which will withstand tremendous pressures far in excess of any other packer now known to have been constructed.

What is claimed is:

A well tool for employment on an operating pipe in a well bore and comprising a body adapted for connection to the lower end of said pipe, said body including a coupling and a tubular mandrel secured thereto, a packer connected at its upper end to said body and upon ination slidable upwardly from its lower end upon said mandrel, there being an opening in said mandrel for the passage of liquid into said packer for ination thereof, piston means on said pipe above said packer and operable by said pipe to force liquid into said packer through the opening in said mandrel for iniiation of the packer, a ow connection secured to the lower end of said mandrel, there being ports therein for communicating with the well bore when the packer is inlated, a flow tube connected with said flow connection and communicating with the ports therethrough, said flow tube extending upwardly through said mandrel and piston means and terminating in said operating pipe, the lower end of said packer end normally overlying the ports in said flow connection and uncovering said ports upon iniation thereof for communication of said flow tube with the Well bore, an annular inverted resilient positioning cup secured to the lower end of said iiow connection, a stem of reduced diameter extending from said" flow connection, and thru said cup, a resilient plug around said stem and below said cup, a collar slidable on said stem and mounted below said plug, said collar movable along said stem upon contacting an obstruction therebelow to urge said plug against said cup for expansion thereof, and cooperating latching elements on said collar and said stem to latch said cup in expanded position.

JOHN LYNES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,840,379 Wrighter Jan. 12, 1932 1,850,218 Thomas Mar. 22, 1932 2,143,106 Freedlander Jan. l0, 1939 2,143,746 Spang Jan. 10, 1939 2,161,135 Chappell June 6, 1939 2,166,230 Bald Jan. 9, 1940 2,227,731 Lynes Jan. 7, '1941 2,248,169 Granger July 8, 1941 2,516,580 Lynes July 25, 1950 

